The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is dedicated to bringing you the latest news and developments in sudden cardiac arrest prevention and treatment.

MyHeartMap Challenge Winners Announced: A Total of 1,500 AEDs Found in Philadelphia

  Contrary to expectations, the winners of a contest to locate lifesaving portable medical devices in Philadelphia relied on old-fashioned shoe leather. That was just one surprising outcome of MyHeartMap Challenge, the University of Pennsylvania’s project to map the locations of automated external… Read More

Australia Steps Up Heart Checks of Its Olympians

The Australian Olympic Committee has instituted enhanced heart checks of its London-bound team after the death of Norwegian swimmer Alexander Dale Oen this week and two recent on-field collapses in European soccer. Dr. Peter Baquie, the Australian Olympic team's medical director, said more than two-thirds of the expected 400-strong squad had… Read More

New Jersey Passes Good Samaritan Law

Gov. Chris Christie signed a Good Samaritan Bill into law Thursday morning, two months after the bill was passed by the State Senate by a vote of 37-1 and passed the Assembly unanimously 75-0. The Good Samaritan Law absolves those trying to help save a life of responsibility if they cause injury while attempting to give aid. Until now, this… Read More

Aircraft Diverted As Crew Gives Passenger CPR

A Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N1608 performing flight DL-80 from Atlanta,GA (USA) to Brussels (Belgium) with 160 people on board, was enroute over the Atlantic Ocean about 300nm off the coast of Ireland when a female diabetic passenger, 64, collapsed prompting the cabin crew to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while the… Read More

Stun Guns Can Trigger Sudden Cardiac Arrest

INDIANAPOLIS -- A review of case reports published April 30 in the journal Circulation indicates that being shocked in the chest with an electronic control device or stun gun can result in sudden cardiac arrest. The article is reportedly the first one published in a peer-reviewed medical journal citing the connection. “Law enforcement and other… Read More

FDA Votes in Favor of Use of Subcutaneous ICD in Appropriate Patient Populations

The FDA Circulatory System Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee voted 7-1 that the benefits of Cameron Health’s subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator outweigh the risks when used in the appropriate patient population. In a 7-1 vote, panel members deemed the device effective and unanimously agreed that it is safe… Read More

World Champion Swimmer, 26, Dies from Sudden Cardiac Arrest

STOCKHOLM (AP) - Alexander Dale Oen, a world champion swimmer who was one of Norway's top medal hopes for the London Olympics, died during a training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was 26. The president of the Norwegian swimming federation, Per Rune Eknes, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that Dale Oen died after suffering a cardiac… Read More

City of Billings Sued for Lack of Response and AED in Case of Sudden Death of Swimmer at Community Pool

BILLINGS, MT--The family of a Billings man who died of a heart attack during an outing at Rose Park pool is suing the city of Billings for failing to provide for the safety of pool users. Bart Bieber, then 41, died on July 24, 2011, during a visit to the pool with his wife, Therese, and their three minor children. The lawsuit was filed April 12 by… Read More

Most ICD Patients Die of Heart Failure

Patients with implantable defibrillators (ICDs) or resynchronization devices with defibrillator (CRT-Ds) were most likely to die of heart failure or noncardiac causes, not sudden death, a single-center study found. Of the 2,859 patients included in the analysis, the 8-year cumulative incidence for heart failure death was 8.6% among patients with… Read More

Three and a Half Hours of CPR Bring 29-Year-Old Back to Life

Mooresville, NC--When McDowell County EMS responded to a 7 a.m. call on Jan. 25, they could not have anticipated the sequence of events that would occur. What unfolded was a near miracle – 3 ½ hours of CPR that gave life to a man on the brink of death. EMS arrived at the scene to find 29-year-old John Letterman hypothermic and unconscious. En… Read More